What speaker do you find yourself listening to most?

[arken]

I'm curious , this question is for multiple AR speaker owners. What do you find yourself listening to most? Maybe another way to put this is what combination power and AR speakers pleases you the most. For me it is a Fisher 400 and a set of AR 3's. There is certainly not enough power to bring out there full potential but there is something about that combination that pleases me to no end. Once the Fisher is good and warm after a half hour or so there is a warmth that comes through That I have come to love. I either play a old Pioneer elite pd-65 or a AR-ES1 turntable. Either way it leaves me satisfied every time. Funny that a 1966 Receiver and a 1965 speaker can sound that good. What about others? 

[samberger0357]

I bet that sounds great! I've tried a 500C and other low powered tube amps with AR3's and 3a's and very much enjoyed the experience.

 

I finally decided that for full time listening I preferred a bigger amp for my 3a's(which is the speaker I listen to the most, although I do enjoy my KLH Model Five's as well) so am using a a McIntosh MC2105. But I didn't want to give up tubes entirely so have a McIntosh C20 preamp driving the 2105, and the combination is just right for me.

[AR55]

My first choice is my pair of AR-9Lsi’s powered by a McIntosh MC7270 power amp.  Both the amp and the speakers are over 30 years old, but as I have said in previous posts that there are few speakers on the market today that can compete with them.

My wife on the other hand prefers listening to our AR-11’s that are in our small theater room.  I think that her opinion is influenced buy the La-Z-Boy rocker centered between the speakers.

[AR surround]

I have AR9's, AR90's, AR915's and AR48's.   I prefer the AR9's by a large margin.   They are driven by 200 wpc Lexicon amps...I wouldn't consider anything less as these speakers seem to need to be played loud in order to flourish.  Of course, when listening in surround sound I get to use the 9's, 90's and an 915 as well!  Occasionally, I'll swivel the chair around and listen to just the AR90's.  I haven't listened to the 48's in years.

[DavidR]

I have 2 pair of AR9, AR90, AR91, AR10PI and I gave my son a pair of TSW610 (they ain't no slouch, its the mids that lack the most.)

The 9's get listened to more on my SS gear vs the 90's. The 91 and 10Pi get swapped frequently on my tube gear.

Hoping my son will take the 90's some day.

Then I still have a pair of Bose 901_II w/ a modified EQ that gets duty for movies and some Sunday morning music.

[Kev_Rat]

I have ar-9, ar-90, ar-92, ar-6, ar-mst-1, ar-3A Improved, ar-LST

Favorite for home listening is LST easily.  Party Speaker ar-9

[genek]

About 10 years ago we downsized for retirement. I sold off several pairs of speakers and consolidated the remaining ones into one multichannel HT system. With AR-3a as the front speakers, AR-2ax as the rears and AR-1ms as center channels I am now listening to all my remaining AR speakers at the same time.

[arken]

I knew i would get some great answers from this, Nice! Once that AR bug gets you lol  

[johnfalc]

Depends on the room I'm in ;-).  One pair of AR-3a flank our large-screen TV so they are often in play.  The AR-9 are on a different wall of the living room so they get listened to for "serious" listening and when we want to dance.  The AR-90 are in the bedroom ...   All are powered by Carver M-1.5t amplifiers.

[JKent]

4 hours ago, johnfalc said:

Depends on the room I'm in 😉

Me too. I'd like to say AR-3a but mine are set up in a very awkward area in my shop and don't get played much They're powered by a highly modified Hafler 200 with Musical Concepts boards. Source is an AR XA with Shure V15 III (AR TT is scheduled for a refurb). . The AR-91s get the most use, powered by an Adcom 555/II with 565 preamp. Source is a Tivoli CD.

Maybe I shouldn't say so here, but my HT has NO ARs. Fronts are Cizek KA-1, rears are Cizek HTA. Side surrounds are CSW Ambiance. Front high and wide speakers are DIY. Sub is VMPS. Center is rbh. Power is an Onkyo receiver with Audyssey to balance all those different speakers but I can also listen to vinyl through just the Cizek KA-1s. Then the power comes from a refurbished Scott 299 tube amp, source is a Harman Kardon T-60 TT with Shure V15 V.

[ar_pro]

We're down to a single pair of AR speakers, which is something that I haven't been able to say in a long time!

So, it's AR-91 guts in AR-3a cabinets, powered by a Mac MA-6900 with a Technics 1210 with SME arm and Shure cartridge. 

A very satisfying, quirk-free setup for enjoying vinyl. 😉

[frankmarsi]

@ "Arken" "Once that AR bug gets you lol   In response to a new member, you've said it so here's a condensed version of my pursuit!

Since my first listen to an Acoustic Research speaker in 1966(an AR-4), I have been on an all-out quest to have and enjoy the best stereo/hi-fi for a middle-class 16 year older to reach. Back then my only two favorite hobbies were building up my body and playing the guitar in a popular local band.

I had to wait till I came out of the military a few years later at 20 years old, was I old enough to afford AR speakers.

In late1967 (@ 17 yrs. old), I built the cheapest acceptable alternatives ‘hi-fi’ amplifiers with a Dynaco ST-35 amp and a PAS-3X pre-amp but, I still wasn’t able to afford AR speakers but while 16 yrs. old, I built 3 different size cabinets with raw speakers, they sucked. At 20 yrs. old and after military discharge I went into college and I was able to work at small jobs to make spending money to take my girl out, buy text-books and save a little on the side for my big plans to purchase either AR-5’s or the big boy AR-3a’s.

By 1971 I saved enough to buy AR-3a’s. I upped the wattage with a Dynaco ST-120 kit I built and a new turntable, the AR-Xa by 1972. The system sounded inadequate with just the ST-35 of course.

By 1974, I started working in Manhattan again and saved enough to buy into the true amount of watts honestly needed to run the AR-3a,  a Phase Linear 400 with 400 watts RMS per-side and a few weeks later I strapped on 'Micro-Statics. I was in audio heaven and though I was running a S.S. power amp, I still was using my PAS-X, they were a good pair together except for the pre-amp's tube-hiss.

Due to the fact that tubes are inherently noisy, I wanted as much operational quiet playback as I could get. I stretched my budget and bought a new Phase LInear 4000 pre-amp. And as quiet as that pre-amp was and is, that level of quiet made me want to upgrade my input source, my rumbling AR-Xa was now up for replacement as was my prized Shure M91ED and Empire 999se/x. I was compelled to upgrade to better sound.

In came a Micro-Seiki TD-55 direct drive turntable with a Shure V-15 Type III and now my system was newly considered top-grade as those two items were responsible for a major difference and changed everything for the best.  To repeat that was in 1974 and I was king of the hill compared to what every one of my friends were listening to. I sat with that system from that point on because I was busy pursuing a new career and money was once again difficult to come by. However in the back of my mind, I knew I was lacking the ‘ultimate system’ that I had in mind.  As an early subscriber/ reader of the main three hi-fi magazines back then (have been reading Stereoph__e & TAS since later '80s)  when the AR-LST’s were released in1972 they never left my mind's day dreams and desire. Unfortunately the LST's were just too expensive and in turn became a future plan.

Fast forward to late 1987 when I was blessed to acquire five AR-LST’s from which I condensed that number into four high-performing LST’s as one out the five was very banged up but, I stripped it of all drivers, and X-over. By 2009 I acquired two very high-powered Phase Linear Series II PL-700 amplifiers and I realized my system was the best it has ever been. CD quality wasn't giving me enough and was lacking what I knew LP's already had so, I once again started studying the world of better tonearms, tables and cartridges even more than I had all those years before as I knew therein was the secret to better sound.

So no, I’m not a novice to this field and I’ve learned gobs of ‘Hi-Fi’ information and I have loads of experience and that has always kept me as a strong AR speaker fan. Even though I've experimented in several other areas, my speaker of choice has since their release in 1972 has been the AR-LST, period. And one better four of them at the same time and with high-powered amplifiers. No second guessing here! This is big-time vintage AR speaker nirvana.

At present, that whole experience set me upon a course of even greater and more realistic sounding high-fidelity. That history culminated in learning the many large differences in phonography, room-placement, table and cartridge set-up, cabling, and ultrasonically cleaned vinyl. It all has opened up a whole new world of listening pleasure.

P.S. If you listen to the videos linked below understand unless one has a good computer speaker set-up and soley relies upon tiny barely there inboard speakers you won’t be hearing anything much. As a person who is enamored with music I use a half way decent speaker set-up comprised of a 5” sub-woofer and two 31/2” mid/high range front speakers for my computer. With anything less such as no external woofer and inadequate sized front speakers one will not have an idea of how good this sounds.

P.S.II   If some one loved AR-3a's as much as I did and suddenly AR Corporation said their new specialty high-performance latest of the latest model is better, anyone would want, dream of owning, and listening to them as a high-point in enjoying a life of high-fidelity music reproduction. If I could back in time and bring forth my close friends back in the early 1970s, they'd tell you what a AR-3a devotee I was, and for years if someone asked me what speakers to buy, I'd always recommend AR-3a's. That all changed when I had the good fortune to acquire four LSTs after 18 years of being a AR-3a user.

Oh yeah, I forgot to address the poster, my favorite speakers are four AR-LST's with high power and super-clean vinyl while using everything to bring that equation to a high-point in the vintage realm.

https://community.classicspeakerpages.net/topic/10649-do-ar-speakers-really-sound-that-good-more-new-video/

 

https://community.classicspeakerpages.net/topic/9747-i-just-wish-members-here-would-show-us-photos-of-their-set-ups-and-listening-rooms/

 

[DavidDru]

Since I sold my AR9's I really haven't listened to my various AR's other than the AR12's that are readily available and a nice format/size.

This question got me thinking a little and I have a pair of custom 60w tube monoblock amps sitting here I should try with the 3's.  It's stupid I don't listen to the 3's more after I put all the time and money into them, but that lacking upper range kinda kills it for me when I do.  I might need to get those serviced.

 

These AR92 I am working on will be a nice size/format too when done.

[JeffS]

A couple of months ago I took my 3a's out of my 'vintage' system and put in my 58s's. I've always enjoyed the balance of the 3a's, but I certainly appreciate the additional high end of the 58s.

Along with those, I have a pair of AR-5's being driven by my flea market McIntosh MC2100. A real survivor, removing the bottom cover revealed that the amp had been run hot for a long time. All of the out-of-tolerance components were replaced, and back into service it went. It's case looks like it rolled down a flight of stairs sometime in it's previous life, and I think I'll keep it like that. Anyway, the AR-5's have a great balance and I'll continue to use them until I start downsizing.

In my more 'modern' system, I also use two pairs of speakers. My AR-303's have been there for ~20 years and if I had to choose just one pair, they would be it.

On top of those I have a pair of Allison:Fours. I really like this speaker and find that when I switch to them, I tend to listen to them for a couple of months. For a small box, they have a big and well dispersed sound and are an excellent choice for someone that wants a 'vintage' 8-inch 2-way (if you can find them).

[DavidDru]

11 hours ago, JeffS said:

A couple of months ago I took my 3a's out of my 'vintage' system and put in my 58s's. I've always enjoyed the balance of the 3a's, but I certainly appreciate the additional high end of the 58s.

Along with those, I have a pair of AR-5's being driven by my flea market McIntosh MC2100. A real survivor, removing the bottom cover revealed that the amp had been run hot for a long time. All of the out-of-tolerance components were replaced, and back into service it went. It's case looks like it rolled down a flight of stairs sometime in it's previous life, and I think I'll keep it like that. Anyway, the AR-5's have a great balance and I'll continue to use them until I start downsizing.

In my more 'modern' system, I also use two pairs of speakers. My AR-303's have been there for ~20 years and if I had to choose just one pair, they would be it.

On top of those I have a pair of Allison:Fours. I really like this speaker and find that when I switch to them, I tend to listen to them for a couple of months. For a small box, they have a big and well dispersed sound and are an excellent choice for someone that wants a 'vintage' 8-inch 2-way (if you can find them).

What preamp I see in the corner there?

[JeffS]

That's a McIntosh MR78 FM tuner. The MC2100 is getting it's input from the pre-out of my NAD 3150 integrated amplifier, that I purchased new back in 1983.